Internal-combustion engine.



A. H. RAGSDALE.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. re. 1913.

1,1 62,252. Patented Nov. 30, 1915.

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A. H. RAGSDALE.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 16, I913.

avwembo'e towns I'LANOGRAPH 60-. WASHINGTON. n c.

A. H. RAGSDALE.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 16. m3.

1,1 62,252. Patented Nov. 30, 1915.

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UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

ALTON HUGH RAGSDALE, 0F ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 30, 1915.

Application filed September 16, 1913. Serial No. 790,034.

are used in place of puppet or like'valvesfor controlling the inlet toand exhaust from the cylinders. The principal objection to this type ofmotor lies in the difliculty of keeping the valve sleeve cool and hencepreventing it from binding, in securing a proper movement of the valvewith a relatively short throw of the crank and in properly lubricatingthe valve. e

The primary object of my invention is to so form the valve system of aninternal combustion engine of this type as to remedy the above referredto defects and to secure simplicity of construction and operation.

Another object is to so arrange and construct the valves that they mayoperate in a valve chamber separate from the engine.

cylinders and whereby one valve may control the inlet of motive fluid toa plurality of cylinders and one valve control the outlet of theexhausted fluid from a plurality of cylinders.

Another object is to provide for lubricating the valves both by a splashfrom the crank case and by lubricant pumped from a relatively shortthrow of the crank on the.

valve shaft.

A still further object is to so construct the cylinder that it need notbe removed from the crank case but that the cylinder head may be removedto permit renewal or repair of the piston, the replacement of packing orthe cleaning of the cylinder.

A further object is to so construct the valve chamber that the headthereof may be readily removed whereby to permit the rethe I moval orreplacement of the valve and the cleaning of the valve chamber ifnecessary. Other objects will appear in the course of the followingdescription.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is aside elevation of two cylinders of an engine, the cylindersand the crank case being partially broken away in order to show theinternal construction. F g. 2 1s a vertical section on the line 2-2 ofFig. 3 showing the internal construction of the valve chambers and themeans whereby the valves are operated. Fig. 3 is a section on the line33 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a perspective detail view of the fixed valvesleeve or internal wall of the valve chamber.

Fig. 5 is a perspective detail view of the sliding valve sleeve and themechanism whereby it is operated. Fig. 6 is a detail view of the valveoperating crank and the camcarried thereby. Fig. 7 isa perspective viewof the eccentric yoke for operating the valve. Fig. 8 is an enlargedfragmentary sectional view of one wall of the engine cylinder'and thehead therefor separated.

Corresponding and like parts are referred closed at their upper ends bya head and are open at their lower ends. Each cylinder is formed with awater jacket as is also the head.

Preferablythe head of each cylinder is detachable and is held in placeby bolts. This is illustrated in Fig. 8 wherein the cylinder 2 is shownas beingprovided with a head L which rests upon the outwardly projectingflange 5 of the cylinder and is held thereto by a plurality of bolts 6having set nuts 7. Each head is formed with a spark plug opening 8 andwith an opening 9 screw threaded for engagement with a priming cock 9(see Fig. 1). Both cylinders are constructed in precisely the samemanner and therefore a description of one applies to theother. j

The cylinders are provided each at its lower end with an outwardlyprojecting flange bolted or otherwise attached to a crank case 10 andsupported by the same.

It is not intended that the cylinders shall be removed from the crankcase under normal circumstances but that if it is desired to clean theinterior of the cylinder or do light work, it is only necessary toremove the head 1-. Disposed within each cylinder is the usual piston 11from which extends the piston rod 12 to the corresponding crank 13 ofthe crank shaft 14 which passes through and is mounted in bearings inthe crank case. All these parts may be of any ordinary or usualconstruction though as before remarked, the cylinder head is preferablyremovable for the purpose stated.

In the ordinary sliding valve sleeve type of engine, the valve sleeve ismounted within the explosion chamber and is hence subjected to theaction. of the hot gases. This tends to expand the valve sleeve andcause it to bind so that it does not run smoothly.

It also causes a great deal of friction and is inconvenient in otherways. For the purpose of obviating these objections, I provide a sleevevalve or valves mounted in a gas chamber separate and distinct from theengine cylinder. Preferably I provide two gas and valve chambers, onefor the exhaust valve andone for the inlet valve, the inlet valvechamber being connected to the inlet ports of a plurality of cylinders,as for instance the inlet ports of the two cylinders illustrated and theother being the exhaust valve chamber and operatively connected to theexhaust ports of a plurality of cylinders, as for instance the exhaustports of the two cylinders illustrated. The construction of these valvechambers is illustrated in Fig. 2. Both of the valve chambers areconstructed in precisely the same manner but one is used for controllingthe inlet of motive fluid and the other the exhaust. Therefore, thevalve chambers and their allied parts will be distinguished from eachother by ex ponents. Thus in Fig. 2, l5 designates the inlet valvechamber and 15 the exhaust valve chamber. Each chamber is cylindrical inform and has a uniform diameter from end to end and is preferably openat its upper end. Each chamber is surrounded by a water jacket 16'relatively large at its upper end as at 16.

Disposed within the exterior chamber 15 or 15 is an inner sleeve 17 or17 This inner sleeve is approximately the same in length as the outerwall of the cylinder and forms the inner wall of the cylinder. Thisinner sleeve is preferably hollow so as to provide a water space 18 or18. The inner sleeve 17 at its lower end rests upon the inner face ofthe outer wall of the chamber and at its middle is held to the outerwall by means of a. bolt 19 or 19 It will be seen that thus a cylinderis provided having an outer wall and an inner wall, both walls beingformed with water jackets or water spaces and the outer face of theinner wall being spaced from the inner face of the outer wall so as toleave between the two walls a valve space 20 or 20 The inner sleeve orwall incloses a gas space. sleeve or wall 17 or 17" is enlarged so as toform a head 21 or 21 which fits snugly within and over the upper edge ofthe outer wall 15 or 15 and which is held thereto by means of screws 2-"which extend through the outer wall of the cylinder. Preferably eachhead 21 or 21 is hollowed out as at 23 to form a lubricant chamberclosed by a cap 2 f having in its center an opening closed by a plug Thespace 23 is connected to the upper end of the space 20 by means ofperforations 26. The manner in which lubricant is supplied to thechamber 23 and thence to the valve space 20 will be later described.

I The inner wall of the valve chamber constituted by the members 17 and17 is illus trated in detail in Fig. l wherein the member 17 is shown,it being understood that the member 17 forms a gas chamber, is preciselythe same in form as member 17 and that the ports of the member 17 arearranged precisely the same as for the member 17. The inner wall 17 isclosed at its bottom or lower end as at 27 and is pro vided at one sidewith a port 28 disposed opposite to a port 29 in the outer wall 15. Theport 29 in the valve chamber 15 is connected to a pipe 30 leading from acarbureter, but the port 29 of the cylinder 15 is connected to a pipe orlike duct 30 leading to a muffler.

The interior wall 17 of the cylinder 15 and the interior wall 17 of thecylinder 15) is also provided with ports 31 and 32 (or 31 and 32 Theports 32 are disposed above the ports 31 and preferably there are fourof these ports 32 and four of the ports 31 extending at spaced intervalsaround the member 17.

Disposed within the annular valve space 20 is a valve designated 33 forthe cylinder 15 and 33 for the cylinder 15. These valve sleeves 33 and33 are constructed in precisely the same fashion and have the same Atits upper end the inner ports, these ports being arranged in the same Ior 29 (or 28 or 29 are always open to permit the introduction of fluidfrom the carbureter (or to permit the exhaust of fluid from the exhaustvalve chamber). The valve sleeve 33 is also provided with the ports 35and 36, the valve sleeve 33 being,

agreageta of course, provided with like ports 35 and at an intermediateposition. The ports 35 and 36 are arranged at spaced intervals aroundthe valve sleeve. When the valve sleeve is in its lowered position, theports 36 will register with the ports 32. When the valve sleeve is inits raised position, the ports 35 will register with the ports 31.

The outer wall of the cylinder 15 is formed with a chamber 37 whichopens into a duct 37 leading to the cylinder 2 and the outer wall isalso provided with a chamber 38 which opens by means of a duct 38 intothe cylinder 3. Thus when the valve 33 is in its lowest position, theinterior of the cylinder 15 will be in communication with the explosionchamber 2. When, however, the valve is in its lowered position, thevalve chamber will be in communication with the cylinder 3. Inasmuch asthe valve chamber 15 is always in communication with a source of fluid,it will be obvious that w-hena communication is established between saidchamber and the cylinder 2, motive fluid will pass from the chamber intothe cylinder and that when the valve chamber is in communication withthe chamber 3, motive fluid will pass from the chamber into the cylinder3.

The valve 33 is also provided with the ports 35 and 36 which are adaptedto register respectively with chambers 37" and 38 connecting by ducts 3738 with the cylinders 2 and 3 respectively. Thus when the port 36 is inregister with the chamber 37", communication will be established betweenthe valve chamber 15 and the cylinder 3 and when the valve 33 islowered, communication will be established between the explosion chamberor cylinder 2 and the valve chamber 15 It will be obvious that when thevalves 33 and 33 are in an intermediate position, the ports leading tothe cylinders 2 and 3 will be closed and that this will occur at thetime when the charge is being compressed and when it is being fired.

The lower end of each of the valves 33 and 33 is transversely slotted asat 39 to permit a portion of the outer wall of each cylinder to beextended through this slot as illustrated in Fig. 2 and disposed beneaththe bottom of the inner wall of the valve chamber so that the waterspace 16 of the outer wall may be connected to the water space 18 of theinner wall by means of ports a0 so as to secure a circulation of waterthrough the outer and through the inner walls. This applies to bothvalve chambers.

The lower end ofea'ch valve is formed witha removable yoke 41 extendingdiametrically across the lower end of the alve and provided with spaceddownwardly extend- 'ing ears 42within which the valve rod is pivotedupon a bolt43 or like member.

The oil reservoir 23 formed in the upper end of each of the inner wallsof each valve chamber is preferably connected by a pipe &2 leading to apump (not shown), which pump is operatively connected to the crankcase'sothat the oil within the crank case may be forced upward throughthe pipe 42 and discharged into the reservoirs 23 and passt-hence byports 26 into the valve space 20 so thatlubricant is applied to theupper end of the valve space.

The lower end of each valve space 20 opens into the crank case- Thelower ends of the valve sleeves are lubricated by a splash from thecrank case. Of course, the

explosion cylinders are also lubricated by a splash feed from'the crankcase.

As before stated, the pistons in each of the cylinders are connected bymeans of the piston rod 12 to the cranks 13 on the shaft 1-1 and for thepurpose of reciprocating the valves in proper time to the reciprocationsof the pistons, I provide lateral valve shafts, one of which isillustrated in Fig. 1 and designated it. Mounted upon the crank shaft isa gear wheel as and mounted upon each shaft 44; is a gear wheel 46meshing with the gear wheel as. The gear wheel 45 is one-half as largeas the gearwheels 4E6 so that the shafts 44 will rotate one-half as fastas the crank shaft 1 1.

Pivotally mounted between the ears 12 of each ofthe valves is a valverod 47. This valve rod at a point intermediate its ends is, formed witha shoulder 18. The lower end of this rod terminates in what may betermed an eccentric ring 49 having internal cam faces formed by theinner edges of webs 50. These cam faces have a peculiar configuration aswill be later described.

Surrounding the rod 47 and disposed on each side of the-shoulder %8 arethe coil springs 51 and 52, both having the same strength,andsurroundingthe coil springs and the rod i? is a cylindrical casing 53 having ends5st pierced for the passage of the rod 4:7. It will be understood thatthis case 53 is loose upon the rod 4:7 and movable longitudinally withrelation thereto and forms a section thereof. This casing 53 is,preferably formed in two sections bolted be reciprocated vertically.

The springs 51 and are relatively strong and hence a reciprocation ofthe cas 111g 53 will cause a reciprocation of the rod 47 and areciprocation of the sleeve valve. It will be obvious, however, that therod $7 is independently movable with relation to the casing in eitherdirection against the force of either the spring 51 or the sprlng 52.This independent movement of the rod 4:7 is secured by means of a cam 57which is mounted upon the cranked portion of the crank shaft in a planebetween the two legs 56 and disposed in the same direction as the crank.Preferably the crank is slotted. The cam is inserted in this slot and isheld in position by a transverse bolt 58. The cam is not intended tomove independently of the crank shaft and extends radially from thecenter of motion of the crank shaft.

The webs 5O which form part of the ring 4E9 are disposed, one above andone below the crank shaft and the inner edge of each web is sinuouslycurved and is adapted to have the cam wipe thereagainst. As illustrated, the middle portion of each web is concavely rounded as at 59 inan arc of a circle concentric with the are upon which the cam 57 moves.On each side of this concavely-cutaway portion 59 there are protuberantportions 60. As the cam rotates, as will be plain from the position ofthe cam on the right hand side, Fig. 2, the cam will wipe against thefirst of these pro tuberant portions 60 and the eccentric will belifted, lifting the rod 47. It will then remain stationary while the camtravels from the crest of one protuberant portion to the crest of theopposite protuberant por tion. As it passes the crest, the cam will moveout of engagement with the cam faces 59, the eccentric will be loweredby the lowering of the legs 56 and will travel downward carrying withit, of course, the rod 4'7. The cam on the crank rotates until it wipesagainst the lower web 50 engaging first with the protuberant portion 60thereof so as to positively depress the eccentric and the rod 47, thenengaging the concave middle portion 59 thereof holding the valve rodsteady, then again depressing the valve rod and then passing around soas to engage the uppermost web 50 and lift the eccentric. It will thusbe seen that I provide for two separate means for shifting the valverod. In effect, the valve rod is telescopic and while one portion ismoving in one direction, the other portion is also shifted. It is bythis means that I secure a proper throw of the valve with a relativelysmall throw of the crank.

With this construction as the crank shaft rotates, the first action willbe to lift the casing or sleeve 53 and this through the spring 52bearing against the shoulder 48 will lift the rod a7 in the ordinarymanner of crank motion. As the valve nears its upper position, however,withthe ports still out of register with the ports in the walls of thevalve chamber, the cam 57 will act as previously described toadditionally shift the rod 4.: and additionally move the valve sleeve toits proper position. In other words, the action of the crank is to movethe valve sleeve nearly to its full position, and the action of the camis to bring the valve sleeve fully into its proper position and itsports in proper register with the ports of the valve casing.

It will of course be noted from Fig. 2 that the casing is formed at itsmiddle portion with an inwardly extending flange 61 which when the cam57 is directed downward registers with the flange 48 formed on the roda7. Seated upon the upper and lower faces of this flange 61 are thewashers 2 upon which the springs 51 and 52 bear. These washers 62overlap both the faces of the flange 61 and the opposite faces of theflange 4-8. Thus any upward movement of the rod 47 beyond its middleposition independent of the casing 53 is resisted by the spring 51, thespring 52 remaining idle while any downward movement of the rod at? withrelation to the casing is yieldingly resisted by the spring without,however, affecting the spring 51.

Otherwise than before stated, the operation of my invention is the sameas that of any other internal combustion engine. The gas from thecarbureter passes into the gas receiving chamber 15, thence passesalternately into one or the other of the connected working cylinders andthe exhaust gases pass from the cylinders alternately into the exhaustgas valve chamber 15 from whence they pass off into the muffler or anyother suitable discharge. It is to be particularly noted that with thisconstruction the internal valve sleeve 17 or 17 may be readily removedby simply removing the bolts and that when removed, this exposes theentire interior of the valve chamber. The valve rod i? may be thendisconnected from the valve sleeve and the valve sleeve removed entirelythrough the top of the valve chamber. Thus the valve may be easilyrepaired, replaced or adjusted, and the interior faces of the valvesleeves of the walls between which the valve sleeves operate may becleaned if desired.

It is particularly pointed out that the valve construction is such thatthe valve rod 4L7 is disposed immediately beneath the axial center ofthe valve and not at one side of its axial center Where the valve rod isat one side of the axial center, the action of the valve rod tends tocause the valve to bind within the valve space and not work smoothly.lVith my construction, this binding is obviated and inasmuch as theforce is entirely axial, friction is very greatly reduced. I thus secureall the advantages of the sleeve valve with none of the disadvantagesdue to overheating of the valve and binding of the parts.

What I claim is:

1. An internal combustion engine including a combustion chamber, a valvechamber distant from the combustion chamber and having outer and innerwalls spaced from each other, both said walls being jacketed to providea water jacket on the exterior of the outer wall and the interior of theinner wall, said ackets extending the whole length of the walls, saidouter and inner walls being formed to each provide an inlet port and adischarge port, one of said ports being connected to the combustionchamber, a reciprocating valve sleeve fitting in the space between saidwalls and having ports adapted to register with the ports of the valvechamber and to at times close the port connected to the combustionchamber while keeping the other port constantly open, and means forreciprocating the valve sleeve.

2. In an internal combustion engine, a valve chamber including a casingopen at one end, and closed at its opposite-end and forming the outerwall of the valve chamber, a cylindrical member conterminous therewithand adapted to fit within the casing and form the inner wall of thevalve chamber, said inner cylindrical member being closed at both endsand provided at its outer end with a head closing the outer end of thecas ing, and a valve disposed between said Walls, the outer and innerwall and said valve be ing provided with coacting ports.

3. In an internal combustion engine, a valve chamber having outer andinner walls spaced from each other to provide a valve space, a lubricantcontaining chamber formed in the head of said valve chamber and havingports leading into the end of the valve space, and a valve disposed insaid space.

4:. In an internal combustion engine, a valve chamber comprising anouter casing forming the outer wall of said chamber and open at one end,a hollow cylindrical mem ber disposed within the casing having anenlarged head at one end adapted to close the end of the casing, saidcylindrical member having a lubricant containing chamber formed at itsheaded end having ports lead ing into the space between the outer andinner walls, and a valve disposed between said outer and inner walls,said valve and said walls being formed with coacting ports.

5. In an internal combustion engine, a

valve chamber comprising an outer cylindrical casing open at one end andhaving a unithe valve chamber, said member beingformed with an enlargedhollow head at one end adapted toclose the open end of the casing, a capclosing the hollow head, the head being providedwith ports leading intothe space between the outer and inner walls, and a valve disposedbetween the outer and inner walls.

6. In an internal combustion engine, a valve chamber comprising anoutercylindrical casing having a uniform internal diameter open at its outerend, a cylindrical member forming the inner wall of the casing andsmaller in diameter than the casing, means for detachably connecting theinner end of the inner member to the inner end of the outer casing, ahead on the outer end of the inner member closing the outer end of theouter casing, the inner member being formed with water spaces, forming awater jacket coextensive with the member, said outer casing and theinner member being both formed with a gas inlet port and a gas outletport, a combustion chamber spaced from the outer casing, a duct leadingfrom one of said ports to the combustion chamber, a water jacketentirely inclosing the combustion chamber, the duct and the valvechamber, and a valve sleeve operating between the outer and inner wallsof the valve chamber and provided with ports coacting with the portsthereof.

7. In an internal combustion engine, a valve chamber comprising an outercylindrical casing, said casing forming an outer wall of the valvechamber, an inner cylindrical member forming the inner wall of thecasing, the outer and inner walls at their outer ends each havingtransversely extending webs and being connected to each other throughsaidwebs, and a valve sleeve operating between the outer and innerwalls, the valve sleeve and said Walls being provided with coactingports, the valve sleeve at its lower end being formed with oppositelydisposed slots for the passage of the transverse web of the outer wall.a

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature inpresence of two witnesses.

ALTON HUGH RAGSDALE. [L- 8.]

Witnesses:

JAs. H. HILLERY, T. N. BRADSHAW.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by'addressingthe Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. (1.

